American voters are substantially less comfortable with the idea of a Mormon president than
having a leader of any religion other than a Muslim, yet Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, has
opened up a lead in the race for the Republican nomination and runs best against President
Barack Obama of the GOP candidates included in a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

When voters describe their comfort level with the faith of presidential candidates, the
independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds:

Overall, only 45 percent of voters say they have a favorable opinion of the Mormon
religion, while 32 percent have an unfavorable view of the faith. Only 25 percent of the
electorate says their religion and Mormonism are very or somewhat similar.

"It appears that the American people - especially Democrats - have many more questions
about a Mormon in the White House than they do about followers of other religions," said Peter
A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "And most don't see
much similarity between their religion and Mormonism.

"The fact that less than half of voters have a favorable view of the religion is likely to be a
political issue that Gov. Mitt Romney, and should his campaign catch on, Gov. Jon Huntsman,
will have to deal with as they pursue the White House."

Among Republicans, or GOP-leaning independent voters, Romney leads the race for the
GOP nomination with 25 percent. The only other candidate in double-digits is former Alaska
Gov. Sarah Palin, at 15 percent. Businessman Howard Cain is at 9 percent, with former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul at 8 percent each. Minnesota U.S. Rep.
Michele Bachmann gets 6 percent, with former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 5 percent and
former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum at 4 percent. Huntsman gets 1 percent. Another
20 percent are undecided.

Voters are split 46 - 48 percent on whether Obama deserves a second term as president.

"Whether it's because of the media coverage of his recent formal announcement, or the
fact that Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee have dropped out, Gov. Romney has surged ahead
of the Republican field. Until now Quinnipiac University's polls have shown many candidates
bunched together in the mid-teens, now he has opened up some daylight on the field and is
within six points of the president."

In a substantial partisan split, 68 percent of Republicans are comfortable with a Mormon
president compared to 49 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of independent voters. There are
gender and racial gaps: 64 percent of men but only 55 percent of women are comfortable; 64
percent of whites but only 38 percent of blacks.

"Although women are sometimes thought to be more tolerant than are men, when it
comes to Mormonism, the opposite is true," said Brown. "The fact that only one in three voters
would be comfortable with an atheist in the White House explains why candidates make a point
of emphasizing their religious beliefs."

From May 31 - June 6, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,946 registered voters with a
margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.
The Republican primary included 830 voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the
nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

1. (Republicans and Republican Leaners) If the 2012 Republican primary for
President were being held today, and the candidates were - Sarah Palin,
Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Gary Johnson,
Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, and Herman Cain, for whom would you
vote?

TREND: Looking ahead to the 2012 election for President, do you feel that
Barack Obama deserves to be reelected, or do you feel that he does not deserve
to be reelected? (*High also May 2011, **Low also Mar 2010)

24a. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about - an
Evangelical Christian president of the United States, is that something you'd
be entirely comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or
entirely uncomfortable with?

24b. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about -
a Jewish president of the United States, is that something you'd be entirely
comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or entirely
uncomfortable with?

24c. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about -
a Catholic president of the United States, is that something you'd be entirely
comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or entirely
uncomfortable with?

24d. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about -
an atheist president of the United States, is that something you'd be entirely
comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or entirely
uncomfortable with?

24e. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about -
a woman president of the United States, is that something you'd be entirely
comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or entirely
uncomfortable with?

24f. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about -
an African American president of the United States, is that something you'd be
entirely comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or
entirely uncomfortable with?

24g. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about -
a Hispanic president of the United States, is that something you'd be entirely
comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or entirely
uncomfortable with?

24h. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about -
a Muslim president of the United States, is that something you'd be entirely
comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or entirely
uncomfortable with?

24i. If you honestly assessed yourself, thinking in general about -
a Mormon president of the United States, is that something you'd be entirely
comfortable with, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or entirely
uncomfortable with?